Look What Was Under Reddit’s Christmas Tree This Year

Silver, gold, and weird bathing suits — it was the season of giving at reddit, where premium subscriptions and gifts among virtual friends brought a different kind of e-commerce to the social space.

Reddit reports that its 4th annual Secret Santa gift exchange brought gifts to 58,504 people in 126 countries, who spent nearly $2 million in gifts and shipping. An additional 11,000 people in 90 countries opted to exchange greeting cards.

The newly launched redditgifts Marketplace might have had a hand in some of the gift selections, as the Santas seemed to hit every section of the department store and then some.

On the shopping list was Borat-style bathing suit, a sunlamp “to help with seasonal depression,” and 22 pounds of potatoes (which came with a free hernia for the postal worker who had to carry it, we suspect.) Other Santas made donations to charities like UNICEF on behalf of the recipients.

Also new to reddit was a premium subscription for members called reddit gold, which among other things, allowed the site’s biggest fans to save their favorite comment threads.